Gecko Obsessed with Getting Out

Status
Not open for further replies.
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
I get that the tank adjustments can cause stress, but if it were the handling that was stressing him out wouldn't he be avoiding me?

Avoiding how? By running into a hide? not necessarily. It could be one or a combination of things. Another problem which you may not realize is, you are forcing him into temps outside of the enclosure everytime you take him out. Your room temp must be around 70f or less in order to provide a cool side, which means you are subjecting him to temps which can increase the chance of illness and hault digestion.

These are temps from the probe inside his warm dry hide. I don't have a probe measuring the air temp. though our house is 65 Degrees and I shut off the CHE at night. Believe it or not my analogue is within a degree or two of my thermostat I can get an air temp with that.

You want to provide stable air temps as well as the ground. Buy a second thermostat. Unstable temps can affect appetite and lead to problem digesting.

If your UTH is on a thermostat, the temp should remain the same 24/7. I'm guessing the UTH does not put out enough heat?
 
Last edited:
Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

New member
Air temp 72 Degrees.

I never intended to do any breeding, but after the earlier comment about his restlessness being cause by breeding season, I've done a little reading. I read an article on how they condition them for breeding season by reducing the temperatures, light and food for a period of 8 weeks. After this period the temperatures, light and food are slowly returned to normal for breeding. This is exactly what my Howie has gone through with his change in home. His previous owner essentially put him through a hibernation period and I've been unknowingly bringing him back to normal.

If this is the case, anyone know how long this might last?
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Air temp 72?? Too cold. You should have an air temp gradient along with the ground. They do not hibernate.
 
Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

New member
cricket4u said:
Air temp 72?? Too cold. You should have an air temp gradient along with the ground. They do not hibernate.
Click to expand...
How do you get an accurate air temp reading? Where would you locate the sensor?

Maybe I was using the wrong terminology, I was certain I had read about "hibernation / brumation" on this site and several others.
 
avoidtheboyd

avoidtheboyd

New member
Most leopard geckos do not brumate but if his temperatures were reduced during the winter by the previous owner that could be occurring.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Your gecko is restless which is the whole opposite of a state of brumation. That pretty much throws that theory out the window.

Place the sensor half way, about 6 inches (warm end), not directly under the CHE.
 
Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

New member
cricket4u said:
Your gecko is restless which is the whole opposite of a state of brumation. That pretty much throws that theory out the window.

Place the sensor half way, about 6 inches (warm end), not directly under the CHE.
Click to expand...

My theory was that he may have been in brumation when I got him due to the cold temperatures and lack of food. Now that I have increased his heat, and food levels he's ready for action. It also just so happens that the timing of all of this would coincide with their natural breeding season.... Just a theory.

I would have thought that if he felt his air temperatures were cold he would stay on the warm side all the time, which doesn't appear to be the case. He sleeps in his warm dry hide through the day but at night he's all over the tank. But then again, I'm just learning here...;-)

Locate the sensor on the glass? Wouldn't that be inaccurate? Whenever you touch anything glass it always seems cooler and the exterior temp would most likely effect the reading as well.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Thin Lizzy said:
My theory was that he may have been in brumation when I got him due to the cold temperatures and lack of food. Now that I have increased his heat, and food levels he's ready for action. It also just so happens that the timing of all of this would coincide with their natural breeding season.... Just a theory.

I would have thought that if he felt his air temperatures were cold he would stay on the warm side all the time, which doesn't appear to be the case. He sleeps in his warm dry hide through the day but at night he's all over the tank. But then again, I'm just learning here...;-)

Locate the sensor on the glass? Wouldn't that be inaccurate? Whenever you touch anything glass it always seems cooler and the exterior temp would most likely effect the reading as well.
Click to expand...

The thread took all different directions.:biggrin: In regards to him moving around at night you asked if he was cold wouldn't he remain on one end? Not if he is stressed and looking for a way to escape.

I personally would not place it on the glass, however my enclosures and set-ups are totally different. It would make more sense to have the sensor in the center of the enclosure. The more limited the options, the more you have to sacrifice which can mean less accuracy. For most it's trial and error and there are too many variables involved for me to point out a perfect placement of the probe.

After looking at the picture of your set-up again, I would guess that the best place to put the probe would be right next to where the CHE is almost underneath, but (a little towards the center). Hard to describe in writing. Just a guess. :)
 
Last edited:
Thin Lizzy

Thin Lizzy

New member
The thread sure did take a lot of turns. I'll look into getting an additional control for the CHE, so the UTH and CHE are controlled separately. This is gonna get tricky as through the winter months, my UTH alone tops out at about 86-87 on the hot side. I do also plan to greatly limit his out of tank time, hopefully he'll focus more on other things like eating.:lol:

I appreciate all of your advice.
 
A

Aellie

New member
Leaving crickets in the tank can stress geckos out. The crickets might even bite the gecko's toes. At least, that's what I've always read.
 
cricket4u

cricket4u

New member
Thin Lizzy said:
Based on my cricket counts, he's been hunting through the night so I've been tossing in 3-4 at a time. I don't add anymore until they're all gone. I wonder if the crickets wandering around can stress him out. Though this is not a new practice.
Click to expand...
I don't add anymore until they're all gone. ?

I also wanted to mention that silkworms are more filling than crickets, therefore he may eat less frequent.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top